FRegards,
Slugger
Posted on 01/12/2003 7:12:00 PM PST by aculeus
Claims that a panther-like animal may be roaming the Black Mountains of Wales have been confirmed by a post mortem examination which showed that a dog was killed and partly eaten by a larger predator.
DNA samples will be taken from hairs found in the whippet's mouth to try to determine what beast killed the seven-year-old dog at a remote smallholding near Llangadog a week ago.
The tests, arranged by the Welsh Assembly's wildlife advisory unit, are expected to take at least two weeks. Paw prints in the snow - almost certainly made by the cat - have also been found.
A Dyfed Powys Police spokesman said: "The post mortem examination and independent witness accounts are all adding to evidence that we have a large panther-like animal on the prowl. The DNA tests will hopefully be conclusive."
Police marksmen with sniper rifles were called to the hilly countryside after the incident. The dog was attacked by the larger animal, which was then joined by what was thought to be its cub.
Police issued a warning to farmers not to go out alone in the dark after Michael Sheppard, 62, came face to face with the animal while searching for the whippet, which had been reported missing by its owner.
Mr Sheppard told police the cat was covered in blood and standing over the dog's body.
Tests showed that the animal had been in the process of eating the pet. Since the attack, there have been two further sightings, one at a creamery in Llangadog at 2am last Wednesday.
A spokesman for the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs said no inquiry was planned.
"There is no evidence of a sizeable population of big cats breeding in the wild."
There have been numerous sighting of big cats in the Welsh countryside. Some experts believe they are successfully rearing young and living off small mammals, but also taking sheep and young ponies.
State of Maine Fish and Game ought to be releasing a few for us as a tourist attraction. They will be able to live off road kill and passed-out visitors from Boston.
FRegards,
Slugger
Looking for a saucer of milk???
I like its other name... The Beast of Essex. Sounds a lot more dangerous than the Vicious Chicken of Bristol. ;-)
I think he did in an unpublished work entitled "Feline of the Baskervilles".
FYIHOB was first published in October 1901.
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